Tape dispenser and moistener



"in vii March 1956 H. J. COLLINS, JR, ET AL 2,737,149

TAPE DISPENSER AND MOISTENER Filed July 6, 1954 INVENTOR. l'lmezvJacxawv Ca4.4.ms.- z

JQJEPH M WESTON A rraews v5 United States Patent TAPE DISPENSER ANDMOISTENER Harry Jackson Collins, Jr., Milwaukee, and Richard G.

Evans and Joseph W. Weston, Green Bay, Wis., assignors to Tape, Inc.,Green Bay, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application July 6, 1954,Serial No. 441,204

3 Claims. .(Cl. 118-43) This invention relates to a tape dispenser andmoistener.

The dispenser comprises but three molded parts desirably made of plasticand requiring for use only a wick and water for which the parts provideappropriate confining means. One of the parts is a base part having apocket in which a roll of tape is disposed and further providing achamber for water and a wick. A partition between the water chamber andthe pocket for the tape supports a second molded plastic part whichconfines the wick to hold it upright, and provides a feed surface overwhich the tape is delivered across the wick. The third plastic part is acover having hinge and latch means cooperating with complementary hingeand latch means molded into the first part. The cover encloses the tape,provides an access opening and underlying feed table for manipulatingthe tape in the feeding movement thereof, and has a tearing edgecoacting with the guide surface of the second part to define a slotthrough which the tape is delivered and which is opened by the hingedmovement of the cover part.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a device embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 shows the device of Fig. l in longitudinal section on a somewhatenlarged scale.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the device shown in Fig. 1, the frontwall being broken away to the plane indicated at 33 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detailed view taken in section on the line 4-4of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detailed view taken in section on the line 55 ofFig. 2.

The molded part 7, which constitutes the base of the dispenser,comprises a hollow forward column 8 with an outwardly convex front wall9. An upwardly opening cavity at 10 constitutes a water container, therear wall 11 of which serves as a partition between the water chamberand a chamber 12 within which a roll 13 of gummed tape is stored. Waterchamber 10 is desirably spanned from front to rear by a plurality ofpartitions 14 having wick supporting upper surfaces 15 upon which themoistening wick 16 rests. Desirably, each partition is extended abovethe level of the supporting margin 15. The upwardly extending portions17 of the partitions are disposed at the rear of the wick and havemargins which converge downwardly toward the wick, as shown in Fig. 2,thereby forcing the wick to an upright position in face contact with theforward wall 18 of the Water chamber. In accordance with conventionalpractice, the wick may comprise a felt or a sponge or a brush, oranother moistening means.

Seated on the top edge portion 19 of partition 11 is a second moldedpart 20 which is T-shaped in cross section, having a channeled shankportion 21 engaging the partition and a broad head portion 22 with anupwardly inclined generally planiform surface 23 across which is fed aweb of tape 24 from roll 13. The forward margin of the head portion 22engages the sponge to hold it snugly against the front wall 18 of thewater compartment. It is preferably disposed at or very slightly belowthe top edge of the wick to guide into .proximity with the moistenedwick the lower or gummed surface of the tape 24.

The cover 25 is made to conform substantially to the width of the basetoclose the compartment 12 about the roll 13. The forward margins of thecover are complemommy to the side walls of column 8 at the rear thereof.The cover has integral ear portions 26 socketed at 27 to receive pegs 2Smolded integrally with base 7 to project laterally therefrom into thesockets, as best shown in Fig. 5. Interiorly the cover has a rib at 29terminating in a laterally projecting hook at 30 immediately below thelevel of the lower margin 31 of the cover proper, as shown in Fig. 4 andFig. 2. The base portion 7 has an overhanging shoulder 32 engaged by thehook in the normal closed positions of the parts. While there arenumerous ways of molding such a shoulder, I provide the base with anopening 33 through which may be withdrawn a portion of the mold which Iuse for this purpose. The plastic cover is sufficiently flexible so thatmanual pressure on its sides will deform these inwardly to release therespective hooks from the respective shoulders at opposite sides of thedevice, thereby permitting the cover to swing from the normally closedposition shown in full lines in Figs. 1 to 4 to an open position shownin dotted lines in Fig. 2.

With the cover open, a fresh roll 13 may be inserted and the tapethereof may be fed across the dispensing table 35 which is moldedintegrally with the cover to extend from side to side thereof beneaththe top opening 36 with which the cover is provided. The tape websupported on the table element 35 is accessible to the operators fingersthrough the opening 36, whereby'the web may be advanced toward the left,as viewed in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 in a dispensing direction.

In the path of the tape thus advanced, and directly beyond the tableelement 35, the cover 25 is provided with a downwardly beveled surfaceat 37 which forces the advancing web onto the upwardly inclined guidesurface 23 constituting the top of the T-shaped element 22. With thecover closed, the inclined surface 38 of the cover is parallel to, andclosely spaced from, surface 23 to hold the advancing tape close toelement 25) and to guide it against the wick 16. Surface 33 terminatesin a sharp edge at 40 over which the dispensed tape is readily torn off.

One advantage of the construction disclosed is to facilitate cleaning ofthe water reservoir 10. The wick 16, is very readily removable, with orwithout first removing the T-shaped head piece 20. Unless the water iskept reasonably fresh, it becomes contaminated with adhesive and, in thecase of some adhesives, it may become moldy. Both the wick and theinterior of the reservoir may be cleaned with great facility.

It will be apparent that another advantage consists in the simplicity ofthe structure and the small number of separate parts required. Both thehinge and the catch used to connect the cover part 25 with base part 7are integral portions of these molded parts.

Facility of operation is another advantage. The cooperation of the coversurfaces with the guide surface 23 of part 29 requires the dispensedtape to move across the top of the wick or sponge. The advance of thetape by manipulation through opening 36 is limited by the extent of theopening, but as much tape can be pulled out as may be needed and thetape may be severed practically in the same motion in which it iswithdrawn, having been moistened by traversing the wick.

The fact that the wick is supported by ribs 14 in a somewhat elevatedposition in the reservoir leaves a settling chamber below the wick, thisbeing a desirable feature.

We claim:

1. A tape dispenser and moistener comprising a base unit providingintegrally a forward column portion having an upwardly opening reservoirwith front and rear walls, said base further having an upwardly openingcavity at a lower level near the rear of the base, a guide memberpositioned on the rear wall of the reservoir and having a channelinwhich the upper end of said Wall is engaged, the guide member comprisinga surface overlying a portion of the reservoir, wick means in thereservoir extending to the level of said surface and confined betweensaid member and the front wall of the reservoir, and a cover for saidcavity having a lip overlying said member and in spaced relation theretoto provide therewith a slot for guiding dispensed tape over the Wick,the said cavity being adapted to receive tape to be dispensed throughsaid slot and having a tape-supporting table adjacent said lip, saidcover having an opening overlying said table to afford access totable-supported tape for the manipulation thereof through the slot andover the wick.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the cover and base aforesaid havemutually interengaged integral hinge and latch parts molded unitarilytherewith for hinging the cover to the base and releasably securing thecover against the hinged movement, the cover having yieldable portionssupporting the latch parts, whereby such parts are releasable bydeforming said portions.

3. A tape dispenser comprising a base provided in a forward portion withan upstanding column having at its top an upwardly opening cavityconstituting a reservoir with front and rear walls and a bottom, saidbase having side and rear wall and bottom portions extending rearwardlyfrom the column and terminating at a lower level to constitute atape-receiving cavity, studs projected laterally from said side wallsadjacent the rear of the base,

shoulders projecting inwardly from said side walls near the front of thecavity adjacent the column, a cover for the cavity having integrallymolded ears at its rear portion with apertures engaged over said studs,said cover having resiliently yieldable forward side wall portionsprovided with latch extensions releasably engaged with said shoulders,said cover being further provided with an apertured top and with a tableweb spanning the aperture beneath the top and across which a ribbon oftape from a supply within the cavity may be manipulated, a lip at thefree forward top edge of the cover having a forwardly directed tearingedge, said lip including a lower surface extending obliquely upwardlytoward such edge, a guidemember of T-shaped cross section having atransversely channeled lower portion engaged over the rear wall of thereservoir and having an upwardly inclined surface complementary to theoblique surface of said lip and spaced therefrom to provide a tapedispensing slot, a sponge disposed in the reservoir and having its uppermargin exposed adjacent said surface and substantially abutted by saidmember for the moistening of dispensed tape, said lip having adownwardly beveled surface leading from the opening above the tabletoward the inclined surface of said member for directing tape againstsaid member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,000,571 Anderson Aug. 5, 1911 1,177,744 Vercellino Apr. 4, 19161,289,213 McGuire Dec. 31, 1918 1,548,258 Davis Aug. 4, 1925 1,552,779Vaughan Sept. 8, 1925 2,362,755 Krueger Nov. 14, 1944 2,432,880 GilliamDec. 16, 1147 2,519,701 Richardson Aug. 22, 1950

